---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Last words are only words."
description: "\"Last words are only words.\" — Cormac McCarthy"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab6/cormac-mccarthy-181_language_last-words-are-only-words-1999076_1999076.jpg"
---

#  Last words are only words.

![“Last words are only words.” quote by Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab6/cormac-mccarthy-181_language_last-words-are-only-words-1999076_1999076.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab6/cormac-mccarthy-181_language_last-words-are-only-words-1999076_1999076.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab6/cormac-mccarthy-181_language_last-words-are-only-words-1999076_1999076.jpg)

> “Last words are only words.”

[Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Words spoken at life's end hold no power beyond their literal meaning.

**In simple terms:** Last words are just words.

Key Takeaway

Recognize that actions define legacy more than final statements.

Themes

mortality communication legacy

Mood

reflective somber

Type

philosophical literary

When to use this quote

- end-of-life care
- legal testimonies
- personal reflections

Key Concepts

existentialism nihilism

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you want to be remembered beyond words?
- What actions speak louder than speech?

A Different Perspective

Words cannot change outcomes after death.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Last Word](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-word/) [Last words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-words/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) [Words Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-words/)

## Related quotes

> [Society takes what it wants. The artist himself does not count, because there is no actual existence for the work of art. The work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/society-takes-what-it-wants-the-artist-himself-does-not-count-because/)

[Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/)

> [The last word of our Lord to the church was not the Great Commission. The last thing He said to the church was 'Repent.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/the-last-word-of-our-lord-to-the-church-was-not-the-great-commission/)

[Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/)

> [Socialism, when the last word is said, is merely a new economic and political system whereby more men can get food to eat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/socialism-when-the-last-word-is-said-is-merely-a-new-economic-and/)

[Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/)

> [“Go on, get out! Last words are for fools who haven't said enough!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/go-on-get-out-last-words-are-for-fools-who-haven-t-said-enough/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [“He put his forehead against hers. “Alannah, my heart is yours.” He said softly. “And yet, I must hand it over to someone else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-morin/he-put-his-forehead-against-hers-alannah-my-heart-is-yours-he-said/)

[B.C. Morin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-morin/)

> [I have no intention of uttering my last words on the stage. Room service and a couple of depraved young women will do me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-toole/i-have-no-intention-of-uttering-my-last-words-on-the-stage-room/)

[Peter O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-o-toole/)

> [Enclosure, upon its completion, was the record which represented the achievement of all the musical goals I had been aiming at for the previous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-frusciante/enclosure-upon-its-completion-was-the-record-which-represented-the/)

[John Frusciante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-frusciante/)

> [Numb and broken, here I stand alone. Wondering what were the last words I said to you. Hoping, praying that I'll find a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killswitch-engage/numb-and-broken-here-i-stand-alone-wondering-what-were-the-last-words/)

[Killswitch Engage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killswitch-engage/)

> [“A fourth son, thought Damen, waiting for someone to notice him. When he wasn’t trying to please, he was baiting authority, as though negative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-pacat/a-fourth-son-thought-damen-waiting-for-someone-to-notice-him-when-he/)

[C.S. Pacat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-pacat/)

> [“As he drove away, he recalled Jack’s last words to him. The dark, dusty well was just a hazy memory now, but he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-warren/as-he-drove-away-he-recalled-jack-s-last-words-to-him-the-dark-dusty/)

[Andrew Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-warren/)

> [“All my possessions for a moment of time. This was Queen Elizabeth I’s last words. Rest assured that he who has the longest time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/all-my-possessions-for-a-moment-of-time-this-was-queen-elizabeth-i-s/)

[Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [“And then, the last words Raspail ever said: 'I wonder why my parents didn't kill me before I was old enough to fool them.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-harris/and-then-the-last-words-raspail-ever-said-i-wonder-why-my-parents/)

[Thomas Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-harris/)

> [“Dear Beloved woman, Time… so much time has passed since my love wrote his last words for me. And yet I remember it as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talon-p-s/dear-beloved-woman-time-so-much-time-has-passed-since-my-love-wrote/)

[Talon P.S](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talon-p-s/)

> [“Watch a man in times of adversity to discover what kind of man he is; for then at last words of truth are drawn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/watch-a-man-in-times-of-adversity-to-discover-what-kind-of-man-he-is/)

[Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/)

> [“Now then, monks, I exhort you: All fabrications are subject to decay. Bring about completion by being heedful.” Those were the Tathāgata’s last words.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/now-then-monks-i-exhort-you-all-fabrications-are-subject-to-decay/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## More by Cormac McCarthy

> [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/)

[Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

> [“The events of the world can have no separate life from the world. And yet the world itself can have no temporal view of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-events-of-the-world-can-have-no-separate-life-from-the-world-and/)

[Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

> [“I had two dreams about him after he died. I dont remember the first one all that well but it was about meetin him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/i-had-two-dreams-about-him-after-he-died-i-dont-remember-the-first/)

[Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

> [“You think people was meaner then than they are now? the deputy said. The old man was looking out at the flooded town. No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-think-people-was-meaner-then-than-they-are-now-the-deputy-said/)

[Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

> [“They set forth in a crimson dawn where sky and earth closed in a razorous plane. Out there dark little archipelagos of cloud and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-set-forth-in-a-crimson-dawn-where-sky-and-earth-closed-in-a/)

[Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

> [“Nothing. Where all was burnt to ash before them no fires were to be had and the nights were long and dark and cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/nothing-where-all-was-burnt-to-ash-before-them-no-fires-were-to-be/)

[Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

> [He said that whether a man's life was writ in a book someplace or whether it took its form day by day was one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-said-that-whether-a-man-s-life-was-writ-in-a-book-someplace-or/)

[Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

> [“He lives in a room above a courtyard behind a tavern and he comes down at night like some fairybook beast to fight with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-lives-in-a-room-above-a-courtyard-behind-a-tavern-and-he-comes/)

[Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

> [“Ultimo hombre. Last man standing, must've been one. Where'd he go?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/ultimo-hombre-last-man-standing-must-ve-been-one-where-d-he-go/)

[Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

> [“To seek out the upright. No fall but preceded by a declination. He took great marching steps into the nothingness, counting them against his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/to-seek-out-the-upright-no-fall-but-preceded-by-a-declination-he-took/)

[Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

> [“They went through the last of the cars and then walked up the track to the locomotive and climbed up to the catwalk. Rust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-went-through-the-last-of-the-cars-and-then-walked-up-the-track/)

[Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

> [“Night fell upon them dark and starblown and the wagon grew swollen near mute with dew. On their chairs in such black immobility these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/night-fell-upon-them-dark-and-starblown-and-the-wagon-grew-swollen/)

[Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

> [“When I was in school I studied biology. I learned that in making their experiments scientists will take some group - bacteria, mice, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/when-i-was-in-school-i-studied-biology-i-learned-that-in-making-their/)

[Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

> [ “We none of us knew him to speak \[Dutch\]. Asked him where he'd learned it you know what he said? What did he say.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/we-none-of-us-knew-him-to-speak-dutch-asked-him-where-he-d-learned-it/)

[Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

> [“You know that the things you put it your head stay there, right?' 'Yeah. But you remember some things, don't you?' 'Yeah. You remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-know-that-the-things-you-put-it-your-head-stay-there-right-yeah/)

[Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

[Explore all 927 Cormac McCarthy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/)

## More Language quotes

> [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/)

[Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/)

> [Usually male directors have to use foul language to get the job done. But I never came down to that level as being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-khosla-kumar/usually-male-directors-have-to-use-foul-language-to-get-the-job-done/)

[Divya Khosla Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-khosla-kumar/)

> [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/)

[John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/)

> [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/)

[Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/)

> [“I only have two words to say More or Less”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timbur/i-only-have-two-words-to-say-more-or-less/)

[TimBur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timbur/)

> [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/)

[Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/)

> [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/)

[Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/)

> [What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/)

[Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/)

> [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. I ran out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-re-beautiful-cute-pretty-gorgeous-and-fuck-i-ran-out-of-words/)

[Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/)

> [The world has a soul and whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-has-a-soul-and-whoever-understands-that-soul-can-also/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

> [“The words for what I want to say right now don't exist. Everything sounds…so cliché.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/the-words-for-what-i-want-to-say-right-now-don-t-exist-everything/)

[Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/)

> [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Words can kill you trust towards someone, mind you language people, every reaction had its consequence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/words-can-kill-you-trust-towards-someone-mind-you-language-people/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca loquentis. (To action little, less to words inclinded.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/finxerunt-animi-raro-et-perpauca-loquentis-to-action-little-less-to/)

[Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/)

> [For comedy action, I must know the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammo-hung/for-comedy-action-i-must-know-the-language/)

[Sammo Hung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammo-hung/)

[Browse all 21,951 Language quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Last words are only words.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Cormac McCarthy"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/last-words-are-only-words/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Language"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/last-words-are-only-words/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab6/cormac-mccarthy-181_language_last-words-are-only-words-1999076_1999076.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab6/cormac-mccarthy-181_language_last-words-are-only-words-1999076_1999076.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab6/cormac-mccarthy-181_language_last-words-are-only-words-1999076_1999076.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Last words are only words.” — Cormac McCarthy",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Cormac McCarthy",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Last words are only words.",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/last-words-are-only-words/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/last-words-are-only-words/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
